Businessman’s son kidnapped

IN THE country’s latest kidnapping, the 18-year-old son of a prominent South contractor was snatched by two men pretending to repair a car at the side of a road in Fanny Village, Point Fortin yesterday. Young Ravin Persad, 18, was at the time walking to work. Up to late last night, the kidnappers had not yet contacted the Persad family to make any demands. Persad, for the past year, was a supervisor at his father Krishna Persad’s business — KPS Contractors Ltd. Police sources said the kidnappers were aware that Persad walked to work on a daily basis and waited along the main road to abduct him. KPS Contractors Ltd is located a short distance from the Persad’s residence. According to police reports, around 8 am Persad was about 300 feet away from his workplace, when he approached a silver grey Nissan B14 Sentra, parked on the side of the road, with its bonnet open. Two men standing in front of the open bonnet, seemingly tinkering with the engine, grabbed Persad as he walked past the car. They then bundled the unsuspecting teen into the car, slammed down the bonnet and sped off.

Villagers who witnessed the incident immediately contacted the police and Persad’s relatives. When Newsday visited the businessplace yesterday, the victim’s parents — Krishna and Sunita — were speaking with the police, who advised them against giving information to the media. A worried looking Ria Mohammed, girlfriend of the kidnapped teen, told Newsday when she learnt Persad had been kidnapped, she rang his cellular phone but got no answer. Persad’s great-aunt, Kamala Ramcharan, appealed to the kidnappers not to harm him. She described Persad as “a good boy,” who was young and had plenty to look forward to in life. Officers of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad as well as Southern Division are investigating.